#s town

[kindalikerackham]

a House with Good Bones has got me thinking about southern Gothic creepiness and the loneliness of rose cultivation. It's something that comes up in the nonfiction podcast S-town as well, with John B. McLemore's beautiful labyrinth. since they require such attention in the southern climate, it seems like they're a recurring idea of displaced affection and care, that humans find sustaining purpose in a beautiful prickly flower with strict guidelines and landscaping patterns, rather than commit to the wildness of a relationship with a full person, or guide the untamed growth of a child that goes beyond boundaries and expectations. a safe, knowable joy and pain

[meowmiiee]

John was actually quite good at appreciating the time he had. That wasn't his problem. His problem was a proleptic one. He saw nothing but darkness in the future. Shittown, for John, was not believing that anything good would last. That we would inevitably mess it up. Relationships that are meaningful, the Earth as a place that can adequately support human life, even John's remarkable maze.

https://stownpodcast.org/chapter/7

[theunstuffedpepper]

Hump day.

Good news: I took the day off of work today!

Less good news: I’ll be spending my entire morning in the doctor’s office for some tests.

At least I’ll be outta here by 1130 or so. I’ve had to fast for today’s appointment and I’m already thinking about lunch. 😂 Luckily I’ve got podcasts to keep me company. Trying out “S Town”, because it’s by Serial/This American Life. So far, so good. It’s interesting enough. Definitely not something I could listen to while working.

Two more hours to go...

[thaumaturtles]

Does S Town seem vaguely House of Leaves-adjacent to anyone else? Not just the maze, but the general atmosphere created by the podcast and the way John talks reminds me very much of Johnny Truant

Plus, you can draw the obvious parallels between John and Zampano, and the way the narrative treats both characters

[demickle]

Podcasts I listen to

I know no one will (probably) read this but to my few followers, check these out:

1. Welcome to Night Vale: I could die listening to this podcast and be happy. Cecil’s voice is so soothing and the nonsense in Night Vale is much purer than reality. The writing is incredible and will really make you think

2. Those Conspiracy Guys: don’t be intimidated by the length of their episodes. They go super in depth into a broad range of conspiracies, and they’re Irish and they have very pleasing accents. I especially love the Marilyn Monroe and Paul McCarthy episodes, and their shorter true crime ones are a nice way to ease into their style.

3. The Daily Zeitgiest: my favorite way to listen to the news, it’s a one hour episode everyday Monday-Friday that I usually listen to on my commute to school. It’s definitely to the left but still presents current controversies and events in an easy to follow, completely factual way.

4. Jenna and Julien Podcast: Jenna Marbles and her boyfriend, aka my favorite couple, playing games and just being themselves, it always makes me laugh and improves my mood, a good distraction if I don’t want to think too much.

5. The Black Tapes: a radio docu-drama that follows and investigative journalist and the most skeptical paranormal investigator she could find, uncovering a massive paranormal conspiracy. Really good writing and voice acting, I binged most of it over the summer.

6. S-Town: True story, guaranteed to make you cry. A lot. But sooooo good

7. Serial: I wasn’t a huge fan of season 2, but season 1 is incredible. It’s a crazy true story following a journalist trying to prove a boy convicted for murder innocent decades later

8. Alice Isn’t Dead: by the producers of Welcome to Night Vale, it’s a darker fiction podcast following a woman in search of her missing wife with subtle supernatural elements

9. The Bechdel Cast: two female comedians and a guest review one movie every episode in comparison to the Bechdel Cast. I just started listening to this one but it’s great if you love movies and feminism

10. The Bright Sessions: a therapist’s recordings of her sessions with “atypical” patients (telepaths, time travelers, etc). I am so attached to the characters and they develop beautifully throughout the series

I could honestly go on for at least a dozen more, but if you ever need a podcast recommendation message me :)

[howltothewind]

Gay culture is podcasting

[unsightly-opinions]

ok so I know s-town came out forever ago, but i’ve been re-listening to it and haven’t been able to get this song out of my head.

if you haven’t listened to s-town, you should. it’s an amazingly emotional podcast, however HUGE suicide tw

[horreurscopes]

This movie meant so much to Olin. His favorite part is the first 45 minutes, when the cowboys are falling in love, alone together on Brokeback Mountain, without the world there to judge, or threaten, or intrude. To see a love story about two men like that, it moved him. [...] BRIAN REED: [...] Olin saw parts of himself in both the movie's characters, Heath Ledger's character's fear of the world knowing he was gay, but also the way Jake Gyllenhaal's character could feel so hurt by that fear. And he really thought John would get a lot from it, too. OLIN LONG: I wanted him to relate to that. I wanted him to relate to it, and he didn't at first. But then, over time, we talked again. And I talked about it more, and I talked about it more. And then he began to be interested in hearing more of it. So I said, what is your address? BRIAN REED: John didn't have a TV or go to the movies, so Olin ordered him a copy of the original short story. OLIN LONG: I did. I ordered a copy, and I had it sent to John. That was the second time I heard John cry, because he read it. He read Brokeback Mountain. [...] OLIN LONG: We were on the phone, and he was crying about it. He had read it. And after that, he always referred to it as the grief manual. He said, I took down the grief manual and read it again tonight.

S-Town podcast, chapter IV.